This amber
piece displays a Planthopper of the Family Issidae. Many species are short
winged, and some have a weevil-like snout. The most unusual ones are nymphs
termed "shaving brush" planthoppers. These produce wax which
extends brush like to the rear of the abdomen, and is thought to have
a distracting effect upon predators, causing them to strike at the brush
rather than the insect itself. Some examples of them have been found in
Dominican amber.